


Promises

by SubclassSmut



Category: RWBY
Genre: Compulsory Heterosexuality, F/F, Internalized Homophobia, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:22:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29592060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SubclassSmut/pseuds/SubclassSmut
Summary: Life as a Huntress is way too short not to take love when it comes, even if it's a bit unconventional.It's RWBY, but with a sapphic poly pile. Cuz everything is better with sapphic poly piles.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose/Yang Xiao Long, Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 18
Kudos: 115





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Before we start, four notes:
> 
> First, the rating: The first couple chapters will only be very briefly steamy, but there's smut in the outline so I've rated it accordingly. It'll come (assuming I actually finish a longer project for once, which applies to all of these).
> 
> Second, the Underage tag is there cuz Ruby, but she's not going to be involved in any of the explicit stuff for a long time - we're (mostly) following canon so it won't be until after Volume 5 when she's 17. If that's a no go for you, don't read it. 
> 
> Thirdly, we're starting with the Bees, but the full quartet is the end goal. The relationship tags more or less represent the order things will go, except the big one's at the top cuz it's the most important. 
> 
> Finally, that last relationship tag: again, it's mostly there to be safe. I'm not doing any scenes with just them, there's no discussion of them doing it in theory, but there will likely be scenes with them in both involved at the same time. So, just in case that's too close for comfort for you, it's tagged, don't read if you don't want to. 
> 
> That all said, this is starting off between Volumes 1 and 2, hopefully it's not shit:

If there was one thing Blake Belladonna had learned from her brief time so far at Beacon, it was that focusing on a book around other people was extremely difficult. Or, at the very least, while the other members of team RWBY were around. 

Between the shared - and very busy - schedule and the tiny dorm room, she'd found it nearly impossible to get away from the three girls. There was always something: Ruby dragging the team into extra training sessions, Weiss insisting that she put in more study hours so as to not drag down the team's scores, or Yang trying to describe her new idea for some outrageous combo attack that usually involved hurling herself towards the enemy at extremely high speed. Despite how distracting her teammates were, however, Blake couldn't find it in her to resent them for it. Somehow, she even found herself enjoying it. She had quickly become attached to Ruby's honest earnestness and Yang's effortless confidence, and even Weiss' stubborn determination was starting to grow on her ever since they'd made up from their fight about her past with the White Fang. 

The team had undoubtedly grown a lot closer in the week since that particular incident, and once again Blake was surprised by how easy it was to let herself be comfortable around them. She'd even started leaving her bow undone in their room, something that her poor ears were immensely grateful for. Now, however, she was starting to notice that this had created a brand new problem. 

Blake flicked her eyes up over the top of her book to where Yang was sitting and working on Ember Celica while trying - and failing miserably - to disguise the fact that she was staring at Blake's ears. Ruby and Weiss had gone to one of the sparring rooms for the evening, and with just the two of them in the room, Yang had been trying to surreptitiously get a look at Blake's faunus trait for the last hour and a half. 

Blake sighed and put down her book. "Just ask, Yang."

Yang's blushed and she looked back to her weapon. "I, uh. Um. What do you mean?"

"You have the subtlety of an explosion, Yang. Just ask. I can tell it's killing you and I promise you you're not gonna offend me. I'm sure I've heard whatever it is before."

Yang turned her chair around to face Blake, face bright red and hands in her lap. Blake could have sworn her hair was even starting to smolder a bit. 

"Can I... touch them?" Yang asked quietly. 

Now it was Blake's turn to blush furiously, ears pinning down to the top of her head. She'd been mistaken; she had definitely not ever heard that one. Yang quickly went back to her work. 

"I'm sorry, that was so inappropriate. I definitely should not be asking that, that's probably like, super personal for you, and also just weird? I dunno what I was-"

"Yes."

"-thinking, I'm just gonna shut up forever and... wait, what?" 

Yang was looking at her with wide eyes, and Blake took a few seconds to realize that yes, she had, in fact, just said that. Why she had, she had no idea, but it was too late to take it back now. 

"Um. Yes. You can touch them," she muttered. 

Leaving her work behind, Yang climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged right in front of Blake. She was still blushing, but had managed to regain at least some of her composure. 

"Are you... sure? I don't want you to feel pressured into doing something that makes you uncomfortable just because I'm a weirdo with no boundaries."

Blake swallowed. Yang was really awfully close now. She could practically feel the heat coming off her face. If she didn't do something soon, Blake was absolutely going to panic and back out. 

"Yes, it's fine. You're right, it is... personal, but I don't mind, not if it's you. I trust you," Blake said, lowering her head just a little. 

This was apparently the correct thing to say, because the look on Yang's face went impossibly soft, she slowly reached a hand up and cautiously, ever so gently brushed her fingertips across the back of one of Blake's ears. It twitched reflexively, and Yang snatched her hand back. 

"Sorry! Sorry, I-"

Blake wasn't sure what came over her at that point, but she was suddenly absolutely sick of Yang's hesitating. She grabbed Yang's hand and put it back on her head between her ears. 

"It's just a reflex, it's fine. They're just... a little sensitive."

Apparently emboldened, Yang carefully brushed her fingers across the base of one ear before drawing her fingers up over the tip, sending a shiver down Blake's spine. 

"They're... so soft," Yang said softly, with no small amount of wonder. 

Blake instinctively pushed her head against Yang's palm. She felt her blush rise even hotter as Yang brought up her other hand and started gently scratching just behind Blake's ears. Gods, what was wrong with her? She was barely being touched, but the effect it was having on her was... extreme. 

"Okay, um. Full disclosure, it kinda feels like I'm petting an actual cat right now, which is probably like, super racist so I'm just gonna-"

"Yang, shut up, and keep doing that."

Well, that was that. Blake was definitely losing her battle against... something. No one had done this for her in so long, she hadn't let anyone do it in so long, and she needed it more than she'd thought. She moved from leaning against her headboard to laying down with her head in Yang's lap as Yang continued running her fingers over her scalp and her ears and through her hair. 

"Um. Blake?"

"Mmrr?" Blake questioned without raising her head or opening her eyes which had apparently been closed at some point. 

"Are you...  _ purring _ ?"

That got Blake's attention, because as it turned out, yes she was. She shot back up, her face again burning hot with the blush that had just started to die down. Yang still had that damn soft look on her face, like she was looking at something incredibly precious, and Blake suddenly couldn't stand it. She wanted so badly to run, but instead she grabbed a pillow from the bed and held it over her face, curling her knees up against her chest and trying her best to simply disappear. 

"Woah! Hey, no, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Blake, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable again, I promise I won't say anything else, just please look at me?"

Blake lowered the pillow slightly, just so her eyes were uncovered. Yang was still right in front of her, eyes now filled with concern. 

"There you go. Now, please tell me what I did wrong? I don't wanna do it again by accident."

Blake took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Gods, this was so stupid. What was she even doing? Whatever the hell her instincts were thinking they were clearly way out of whack. Here she was, letting a woman she'd known for only a couple of months pet her like a damn kitten, and she was crawling into her lap and  _ purring _ for her? And of course said woman was still sitting right in front of her, waiting patiently for an explanation. Blake swallowed and tried to regain some kind of composure. 

"I'm sorry. It... it wasn't you, I just... You wouldn't understand," she said, voice barely above a whisper. 

"No, you're right, I don't," Yang said in a soothing voice that tugged at something in Blake, and she reached up a hand to brush a stray hair out of Blake's face. Blake turned into the touch a little before she could stop herself. "I didn't really grow up around a lot of faunus, so I'm definitely a little ignorant. I want you to help me understand, so I can do better, 'cause I've for sure messed up here."

Why did she have to be so damn sweet about it? It really would have been so much easier if she'd just been put off like any other human and stopped trying.

"You really didn't," she said. "I mean, maybe don't go around just asking to touch people's faunus traits, but with me it's okay. I wanted you to, and if I didn't I wouldn't have let you."

Yang furrowed her brow a little in confusion. "Okay, but then why did you panic when I asked about the purring? That was what you were doing, right?"

Blake sighed. "Yes, it was. It's just... I haven't done that in a very long time, and it startled me when I realized it."

"If you don't mind me asking, why not?"

"Because it's not something I can just  _ do _ ," Blake said. "It's involuntary. It only happens when I'm absolutely completely comfortable, when there's nothing around that makes me feel threatened or nervous, and I'm totally relaxed."

The tender look was back again as Yang put together exactly what that meant, but it was quickly replaced by sadness before Yang pulled her into a tight, warm hug. For all of her strength, she was so  _ soft _ . Powerful arms that she'd seen bring down Grimm five times her size gave her only comfort and security, and the scent of Yang's lavender shampoo wrapped her like a freshly laundered blanket. 

"I'm so sorry, Blake," she said softly. "You deserve so much better than what the world throws at you. You deserve to have that feeling all the time, and I promise you I will do everything I can to make sure you get it."

Tears pricked at the corners of Blake's eyes and her ears pressed flat against her head. It was all just too much. Yang was taking a sledgehammer to all her walls, all her defenses, and leaving nothing in their place but warmth and safety, and the part of Blake that had been silent for so long longed for her to respond. It  _ demanded _ that she respond.

She pulled back from the embrace just enough to look into Yang's eyes, and amid the beautiful lilac found only genuine care and affection. What was left of her rational self was screaming in the back of her mind to take a step back and figure out everything she was feeling, but Blake couldn't bring herself to pay attention. Instead, she put her arms around Yang's neck, pulled her head down to hers, closed her eyes, and kissed her. 

For a split second, Yang let out a muffled yelp and pulled away, but when Blake followed her she gave in, and then she was kissing back, soft lips pressing against Blake's. A gentle hand came up to cup Blake's jaw, thumb caressing her cheek. Seconds stretched to what felt like minutes and hours, and then - entirely too soon - it was over. They separated, suddenly breathless. The beautiful blush had returned to Yang's face, her lips a little swollen, and her pupils slightly dilated. From the way Yang's eyes watched her with wonder, Blake could tell she looked very much the same. 

"So, uhh," Yang said softly. "We going to… talk about this?"

"Later," said Blake through a suddenly very dry throat, as she pushed Yang back against the wall and moved so she was straddling her legs, and kissed her again. 

"Works... mmf… for me," Yang managed to get out as they came together again, this time with less tender wanting and more urgent necessity. Blake threaded her hands into Yang's hair as Yang moved her own to Blake's waist. She let out a gasp that was very nearly a moan as Yang slid her mouth down to her neck and slipped her hands beneath Blake's night shirt. 

"On or off?" Yang asked between lavishing kisses against Blake's throat. 

"Off," gasped Blake. 

"You're sure?"

"Shut up and take it off."

"Yes, ma'am," Yang said with a smirk. Blake raised her arms over her head as Yang lifted her shirt off her. Being exposed suddenly gave Blake a rush of the self-consciousness that had abandoned her previously, and she tried to cover herself with her arms. 

"Don't," Yang breathed, catching her wrists and guiding them to her shoulders instead. "They're perfect.  _ You're  _ perfect."

Then Blake's head was again emptied of thoughts, as Yang placed a hand against the small of her back and pulled her closer, the other hand coming up to gently cup one breast while Yang pressed hungry kisses against the other. Her thumb flicked gently over a nipple and Blake had to cover her mouth with one hand to stop herself from crying out as she arched into Yang's touch. Warm breath covered the other, and Yang was just about to close her lips around it when the door opened. 

"I swear Ruby, you're going to get yourself killed pulling stunts like that. Next time, try warning- oh my gods,  _ why _ ? What are you _ doing _ ?"

Blake and Yang shot away from each other as the door slammed closed again, Blake tumbling backwards onto the floor and Yang crashing her head against the top bunk in her haste to get off the bed. 

"What? Weiss, what's going on? What was that noise? Let me see!"

"Absolutely not, Ruby, I am not allowing you to enter that room at the present moment."

Yang threw Blake her shirt, and she frantically pulled it back on as Yang unsuccessfully tried to straighten her hair while clutching her head.

"Are you two…  _ decent  _ yet?"

"Decent? Weiss, what are you talking about?"

Blake sat next to the bed and buried her head in her hands, willing this to just be an incredibly terrible dream. Yang gave up on her hair and flopped back onto the bed with an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, it's fine. Fuck's sake…" The door opened again and their other two teammates entered the room. 

"I have no idea why  _ you're  _ mad at  _ me _ , Yang Xiao Long!" Weiss said, hands on her hips, face bright pink. " _ You  _ are not the one who had to walk in on her roommates…  _ philandering _ with each other."

"Please just shoot me and get it over with," Blake groaned. 

"Philan… what? Will someone tell me what's happening?" Ruby asked, looking around the room. No one answered her, but within a few moments she apparently managed to add up the red faces and general state of disarray, as her eyes went wide and she tried to cover her smile with her hands. "Oh my gosh, were you  _ doing it _ ?"

Blake groaned even louder and grabbed a pillow to cover her face with. Yang just snorted out a laugh. "No, Rubes, we were not ' _ doing it _ .'"

"You were pretty damn close," Weiss muttered, unable to look any of them in the eye. 

Ruby, on the other hand, was barely containing her excitement. "Are you like,  _ girlfriends  _ now? Are you  _ in love _ ? This is literally the best thing  _ ever _ !"

"I am failing to see how this could possibly be a good thing, Ruby," huffed Weiss. 

"Weeeeiss, don't be such a spoilsport," said Ruby. 

"It kind of literally just happened, Ruby," said Yang, as she gently pulled the pillow away from Blake. She was wearing sweatpants and a jacket now, and was holding another set out to Blake. "Come on, put these on and let's take a walk."

"I sincerely hope you're not planning on continuing these activities elsewhere."

"Okay, one, get your panties out of their knot Ice Queen, you're making this a way bigger deal than it needs to be."

"Hmph!  _ I  _ think I'm giving it exactly the amount of concern it-"

" _ Two _ , you and my sister walking in on us is better than any cold shower, so no. And three, I don't do public stuff, so you'll have to keep those fantasies to yourself," Yang said with a wink and a smirk. The last thing Blake saw before Yang pulled the door closed behind them was Weiss going completely red and stopping with her mouth hanging open. It would have been hilarious if Blake wasn't still slightly in shock. 

The two walked for several minutes without talking. They only passed a few other students, heading back to their dorms after a long day, but once they'd left the student wing the halls were empty and quiet. It wasn't until they'd gotten outside and a ways away from the school that Yang broke the uncomfortable silence. 

"So," she said. "I know you're at  _ least  _ as mortified as I am right now, but we  _ are  _ gonna need to talk about it before we go back there, if for no other reason than that Ruby is not gonna stop asking until she gets an answer."

"What do you want me to say, Yang?" asked Blake quietly. 

"I mean for starters I kinda need to know what that was for you. Was it just blowing off some steam or… something else? If it's the first one that's definitely fine, we just gotta be clear about it, yeah? Make sure no one gets hurt. Or at least, not again," she said with a laugh, rubbing the sore spot on the back of her head. 

"I… I don't know how to explain it," Blake said. 

"Okayyyy, that's sounding a lot like option number two then," Yang said, bringing them to a stop in one of the gardens. There were no lamps here, leaving an unobstructed view of the night sky. Blake looked around to make sure they were alone before she continued. 

"I've… never really done this before, Yang," she said. "I've only ever been with one other person, and he always just took charge without ever really considering what I was feeling."

A small flash of anger went through Yang's eyes. "He sounds like an asshole, then," she said. 

Blake nodded. "He was - is - not a good person, but I couldn't see it for a long time. But you're not him, that's not what I'm trying to say. It's just… I don't have a lot of experience with sorting out my feelings and deciding what I want. And," she took a deep breath, "I've never once felt like this for a woman. Or, for that matter, a human. Not until now." She felt a tear start to slide down her cheek.

"It's okay, Blake. If you need time to figure things out, then you'll have it. I'll still be here, whether you decide you want something else or not. You don't have to know right now."

"That's just it, though," said Blake. "I  _ do _ know. That's what scares me. I'm a  _ faunus _ , Yang. We put so much more stock in instincts than humans do. And my instincts are telling me that I'm safe with you. That you won't let anything bad happen when I'm around you. That I can trust you."

"Blake…"

"But the last time, Yang, last time they  _ lied _ to me. They lied, and I ended up in a situation that got worse and worse until I had no choice but to run and hide. So right now, I don't know if I can trust  _ myself _ ."

They stood there in silence for a minute after that, Blake staring at the ground, blinking tears out of her eyes. A cool night breeze blew around her, and she shivered, pulling her jacket tighter around herself. 

"You know what I think?"

Blake looked up. Yang wasn't looking at her; she had her head turned up toward the moon. 

"I think," she spoke softly, "that in the time I've known you, you've proven that you are one of the strongest people I've ever met. That your convictions drive you to be a better person, and in doing so you make the people around you better, too. You only have to look at Weiss to see that."

Yang looked back at her, and Blake could swear her eyes brought the stars with them. 

"I think that you are an amazing friend, and an even better partner. I think you are absolutely stunning, sure, but I also admire you more than you can possibly know." She put a hand to Blake's cheek again, brushing away tears that had started to fall. "And I dunno all the details about the last guy, but here we're on equal footing, and you're not alone; you don't just have to take my word that I will never,  _ ever _ , hurt you like that, because if I even thought about Weiss and Ruby would kick my ass up and down the hall."

Blake let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob, and Yang gently tilted her head up toward her. 

"I may still have a lot of questions about you and about faunus stuff in general, but right now I think there's only one that really matters:do you want me?"

"Yes," Blake choked out. "I do."

"Then you have me."

This time, when Yang kissed her, it wasn't need or desire. It was a promise. 


	2. Chapter 2

Ruby's squee of joy when they returned to the dorm room hand-in-hand could have shattered glass, but at least she managed to restrain herself from tackling them in a high-speed hug the second they walked through the door - although only just barely, based on how she was practically vibrating in place. Weiss, on the other hand, was… less excited. She was sitting on her bed, now dressed in her night clothes, with arms crossed and a vaguely disapproving look on her face, as though she'd been sitting and waiting for them to return just so she could scold them. 

"You do realize you are obligated to spend the next four years together?" she said in a long-suffering tone that would have annoyed Yang immensely were she capable of feeling negative emotions at the moment. 

"Gotta say, Ice Queen, I'm having real trouble seeing how that's a bad thing," Yang responded, sitting down on the other bed and smiling up at Blake as she took her place next to her. 

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I only mean to point out that if something were to happen - say, for example, a breakup - the two of you would not be able to simply avoid each other, and I imagine it would make having to live together, much less  _ fight  _ together extremely awkward."

"Orrrrr they could be the most badass partners in the whole school!" Ruby near-shouted. "Their team attacks could be like, a hundred times more effective 'cause they're all super in sync and stuff. Like finishing each other's sentences, but with bullets." Yang could practically see the hearts in her eyes as she imagined it. 

"I think the only thing they're going to be doing is distracting each other," scoffed Weiss. 

"I mean, team CFVY does have Coco and Velvet," said Blake, "and it seems to work pretty well for them. Although they're not technically battle partners."

" _ Exactly _ !" said Ruby. "That means  _ you  _ have the upper hand. You're gonna be the coolest ever, and by extension team RWBY will be the coolest  _ team  _ ever!"

"As much as I love that my dear sister is immediately exploiting my relationship for a tactical advantage," Yang said, as she casually picked up a pillow and sent it flying across the room into Ruby's face, "I think we've gotten away from the point a bit. Even if something  _ does  _ happen, we're all adults here -"

"Factually inaccurate," said Weiss, pointing to where Ruby was trying to untangle herself from the sheets the pillow had knocked her into.

"- and we will handle it like adults  _ if  _ the time comes. And that's as far as I'm willing to carry that conversation, 'cause planning out the worst case scenario of a brand new relationship is just plain tacky," Yang said, putting an arm around Blake's waist. Blake allowed herself to be pulled in, leaning her head on Yang's shoulder. Both of them looked at Weiss expectantly. 

Weiss crossed her arms and turned her head. "Ruby, as team leader will you  _ please _ -"

When she turned to face Ruby - who had at this point managed to get back to her feet - she was met with the most exaggerated pout and puppy-dog eyes she'd ever witnessed. Weiss rolled her eyes and huffed. 

"Fine, but I absolutely draw the line at…  _ canoodling  _ in the team room." Ruby snickered, and Yang stuck her tongue out at Weiss. 

"She's right, Yang," said Blake. "We have to respect that this is a shared space. And besides, we should really probably slow things down a bit."

Yang could see the logic in this, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Taking things slow wasn't really her style when it came to anything, and relationships weren't an exception, but she wanted this to work out more than anything in the world. If Blake wanted slower, she could do slower. Even if it meant keeping her hands above the belt and above the clothes when all she really wanted to do was-

Blake interrupted her thoughts with a quick kiss to the cheek. "I'm gonna go to bed now. After everything that's happened tonight I'm exhausted."

Yang turned and caught her lips with her own for a brief second before pressing their foreheads together. That beautiful blush was back on Blake's face, and she looked almost shy. 

"Okay. Goodnight, beautiful," Yang said, and watched the blush grow a hundred times brighter. She got up and moved to her own bed before she lost the will. Weiss had apparently given up and gone to take a shower, and Ruby lay in her bed trying her best to look like she wasn't watching, which would've worked a lot better if she wasn't making a noise like a teakettle into her pillow. 

It was hard for Yang to get to sleep that night. She wanted so badly to be curled up around Blake instead of in her own bed alone, but she knew that if she was it would be next to impossible to keep her hands to herself. They were gonna take this slower. They could do slow. 

\-----

They absolutely could not do slow. 

Yang spent the rest of the next day itching to hold Blake. At meals, in class, at training, in the shower. It was like a constant pull in the back of her mind, and from the looks of it, Blake was no less significantly affected. The pair shared constant lingering glances, and touches in passing, just waiting for a moment to be alone, and when they finally were, when Yang managed to get Blake into a study room at the library and stand in between her legs while Blake sat on the table, they were all over each other in an instant. Yang was just starting to slip her hands beneath Blake's shirt when Blake pulled away, gasping for air. 

"Yang, we… not here," she breathed out. 

"You want me to stop?" Yang asked. 

"No, just… shirt stays on. We're still technically in public."

The reminder was like a splash of ice water for Yang, who had stopped caring about any of the details of her location that weren't "making out with Blake" about five minutes ago. She stepped back out of Blake's grasp, running a hand through her hair; Blake made a little whining noise in the back of her throat as they separated. 

"We're really bad at slow, I think," said Yang. Blake's bow crinkled slightly as her ears tried to lower to her head; now that Yang knew what she was looking at, it seemed extremely uncomfortable. Blake took a breath to steady herself. 

"I know I'm the one that said it in the first place, but every time I'm around you it's like I can't stop myself," she said, eyes cast down toward the floor. "It feels like I'm going to catch fire if I can't have you touching me."

The heat that had been pooling in Yang's stomach tripled in intensity, and she stepped again into Blake's personal space, pulling her into another searing kiss. 

"If you keep… saying shit like that… I'm never gonna… be able to stop," she said between kisses as she started to work down Blake's jaw. She trailed her fingertips up Blake's thighs, delighting in the shiver it caused. Blake made a low, needful noise in the back of her throat and pressed herself closer, tilting her head back and exposing her neck to Yang. 

"Yang, please, I-"

She was interrupted by someone knocking on the door to the study room. The two of them lurched apart; Blake went from flushed to bright red in a heartbeat, and reached up to make sure her bow hadn't gotten dislodged. Yang was about ready to kill someone. Painfully. 

" _ Occupied _ !" she snapped at the door, and got a muffled "sorry" from what kinda sounded like Jaune in response before footsteps trailed away. She looked back at Blake, who had gotten down from the table and was straightening her clothes. 

"We should probably go. I'm sure people need these rooms for more… academic reasons," Blake said. Yang wanted to disagree, but the prospect of having been almost walked in on for the second time in as many days had largely killed the mood. 

"Yeah," she said, allowing Blake to lead them out of the room. This damn school was going to drive her insane, she could feel it. 

\-----

The next day brought a screeching halt to any kind of notion they'd had about keeping things to themselves for a little while. 

"Is that a  _ hickey _ ?" Nora nearly screamed as they sat down across from Team JNPR for breakfast. Blake slapped a hand over the spot on her neck that she'd done an apparently inadequate job of covering with concealer that morning, face burning. Yang glared daggers at Nora, and was completely ignored. The girl was one of her best friends, but gods she had absolutely no sense of tact. Or volume control. 

"Nora," reprimanded Ren from beside her, but Nora's eyes were already traveling from Blake to Yang's matching blush, then down to how the two of them were sitting much closer together, nearly touching, and finally up to the protective and reassuring hand that Yang instinctively placed on Blake's back. Nora's eyes went even wider, and she leaned forward and slammed her hands on the table, sending all the dishes nearby rattling. 

"Oh my gods, are you two  _ fucking _ ?" she said with unrestrained glee. Thankfully much quieter this time. 

" _ Nora! _ " Ren said again, as Jaune choked on the milk he was drinking, Pyrrha put a palm to her forehead, and Ruby fell over backwards laughing. Weiss had gone weirdly still, back straight and stiff, and her eyes seemed to be rapidly flicking around the room. Of everything, that was the most concerning reaction to Yang, but she'd have to deal with it later. There was a much more pressing issue at the moment. 

" _ Dating _ is the word you're looking for, Nora," Blake said, with a warning tone. "Not that it was anyone else's business."

"You can't just go shouting about people's private lives like that," Yang said. It wasn't that she was ashamed or anything, she just didn't necessarily feel like broadcasting it to half of Beacon just yet. Unfortunately, it seemed that decision wasn't up to them anymore. 

Nora shrank back a bit. "Sorry," she said. "I'm just excited that at least  _ two  _ of my friends have their love lives sorted out."

"Aaaand I think now is a great time to have another conversation about privacy, Nora," Pyrrha said as she grabbed the back of Nora's shirt and started dragging her out of the cafeteria, Nora protesting loudly the entire way. 

Jaune and Ren looked at each other, and Jaune shrugged. "I guess we should follow them. Besides, I need a new shirt," he said, looking down at the milk stain now all over his front, and started walking toward the door.

"Sorry again," Ren said, standing to follow. "Congratulations, though. Best of luck to the both of you."

Yang felt Blake relax next to her. "Thanks, Ren," she said. 

Yang just shot him a grin and a thumbs up, before turning to Weiss. "You alright there, Weiss? Kinda figured you were gonna rip Nora a new one there, but you got all weird."

Being addressed directly finally broke Weiss out of whatever state she'd fallen into. She scowled at Yang. "I have no idea what you're referring to. You had the problem handled; it did not require any input from me. And I was not being  _ weird _ ."

"Are you sure, 'cause-"

"I have homework that needs doing. Excuse me," Weiss interrupted, then stood and swiftly marched out of the cafeteria. 

"Okaaaaay, that was weird, right? She's definitely being weird?" Yang asked, turning to Blake. 

"She's been weird ever since we got together," Blake said with a frown. 

"I'll talk to her," Ruby said, having finally gotten back to her feet and dusted herself off. "It's my job as both team leader and her partner to make sure she's good to go."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you were a big help a couple minutes ago, 'team leader,'" she said. 

"Did you  _ see  _ Jaune?" Ruby said, pointing off in the general direction of the exit. "He was like, a milk fountain! It got  _ everywhere _ ! Frankly I don't think I can be held responsible for my actions."

Blake laughed, and the sound did funny things to Yang's heart. "It  _ was _ pretty funny."

"Alright Rubes, the pretty lady says you're off the hook this time," Yang said with a grin, and Blake elbowed her. "Go chase down the Ice Queen."

Ruby did a quick salute, and then was gone, leaving a handful of petals in her wake. 

"Does your room just smell like roses all the time?" someone asked. 

Yang and Blake turned to see Coco Adel and Velvet Scarlatina approaching them. Velvet slapped Coco playfully. "Don't be rude, Coco!"

Yang just chuckled. "If you think this is a lot, you shoulda seen our house the week Ruby unlocked her semblance. It was like someone blew up a flower stand! Dad and I were going around with clothespins on our noses for like the next month."

"I think it's nice," Blake said. "Covers up the smell of Yang's gym bag."

Yang gave Blake a look of shocked betrayal. "I can't tell if I'm horribly offended or a hundred times more attracted to you now. Probably both."

Coco and Velvet were laughing now. "I'm so glad I was right about you two," Coco said. "Good to have another couple in the club."

Yang cocked an eyebrow at her. "What, like a queer club or something? I didn't think Beacon had one of those."

"Not a literal club," Velvet said. "And she's actually talking about…" her eyes trailed up to the top of Blake's head, where her bow sat covering her ears. Blake went tense at Yang's side, like she was ready to bolt at any moment. 

"Is it really that obvious?" Blake said quietly. She sounded scared and uncertain, like when they'd found her at the docks after she ran away, and Yang could feel the red starting to leak into her eyes. 

Velvet's eyes went wide. "Oh! No, not at all!" She gave a quick look around, then sat down across from Blake and continued in a quiet voice. "I just notice details about people really easily; it's part of my semblance. Plus I have some experience in that particular area." Her ears bent forward, as if to emphasize her point. 

"And the only reason I know is because we tell each other everything," Coco said, sitting down next to Velvet. "And for the record, we're not judging. You've got your reasons, I'm sure."

"What we're  _ trying  _ to say," Velvet continued, "is that there aren't very many faunus at Beacon, and even fewer that are in relationships with humans."

"Actually as far as I know, we were the only ones before now," Coco said. "And sometimes it can be tough, with the way people are. Your situation is obviously not exactly the same, but if it is ever something you want to be public…"

"You've got backup," Velvet finished. "If you ever need something, all you gotta do is ask. And if you ever just need a friend who can relate a little bit more, Blake, I'll give you my scroll number and you can message me whenever."

Yang felt the tension ebb out of Blake as the other couple talked. "Thank you, Velvet," Blake said, passing her her scroll so she could put in her number. 

"Also most of the upperclassmen are terrified of me," Coco said with a smirk. "Though I get the feeling you handle yourselves pretty well." 

That was a language Yang could speak. "Yeah, I think I got it covered," she said, flexing a little. The action made Blake blush, and Velvet just rolled her eyes. 

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, we've both got big scary mates with big scary guns to keep us safe," she said, getting up and pulling Coco up with her. "And now we're gonna leave before you two start arm wrestling. Call me sometime, Blake, and we'll do a double date or something!" 

Once they were gone, Yang turned to Blake. She still seemed a little shaken, eyes down and body language closed off, but she had a small smile on her face. "Soooo, crazy morning, huh?" Yang said. "You doing alright?"

Blake nodded. "I'll be fine. That was just… a lot, all at once, and I wasn't ready for it."

"Yeah, you've been having your personal business dragged out in the open a lot lately," Yang sighed. Blake really had been getting the short end of that particular stick, and Yang wished she could force the universe to cut her a little slack. 

"I guess it's just something I'll get used to," Blake said with a shrug. "And it's not like it was all bad. Velvet and Coco are great; it'll be nice to have them around."

"True," Yang said. "Double date, huh? Think we should take them up on that?"

"Could be fun," Blake said, and then her body language shifted. Her nervousness vanished completely, and when she met Yang's gaze, the smoldering look in her eyes was enough to make Yang's throat go dry. "But first, I want you all to myself. Will you let me take you out this weekend, so we can have a proper first date?"

Yang just stared for a second before realizing she actually needed to respond. "Um. Yeah. Yup. Yes, that's a, uh. Fantastic idea." Brothers, was she really reduced to this so easily? Confident Blake was dangerous. 

Blake laughed. "Perfect. Now we should probably go make sure Weiss doesn't murder your sister."

Yang watched her walk away for several seconds - which was a  _ great  _ way to spend several seconds, it turned out - before hurrying to catch up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter before we earn the rating, and a few more before we start following through on those relationship tags. Pinky promise.


	3. Chapter 3

This was not, as Ruby had so optimistically put it, literally the best thing ever. Weiss was willing to go so far as to say that it was, in fact, literally the worst thing that had happened to her since she'd arrived at Beacon. And that was including being blown up and falling off a Nevermore. 

It wasn't that Weiss wasn't happy for her friends; she was, really, it was just that the situation they'd unknowingly put her in was… difficult. For starters, her father had already been furious that she'd been overlooked as team leader in favor of Ruby, but she'd managed to talk him down by convincing him that Ruby was some kind of prodigy, which wasn't entirely untrue. Blake being a faunus - and worse, a past member of the White Fang - was much more likely to cause problems, but Blake and the rest of her team seemed very intent on keeping the matter under wraps. 

This new development was starting to worry her, though. At first, she thought it might be like the faunus issue, kept quiet and away from the rest of the school, but the Nora problem this morning had proved her wrong. Blake and Yang were obviously more than willing to be open about the fact that they were together, and  _ that  _ was an issue, because if Jacques found out that two of the members of her team - who lived in the same room, no less - were homosexuals, he'd have her pulled out of Beacon and brought back to Atlas faster than you could say "lesbian," lest any implications of impropriety on her part arise. 

And if that was everything it still would have been extremely problematic, but it was how strangely unsettled the whole thing was leaving Weiss that took the whole thing into "complete disaster" territory. When she'd walked through the door to find Blake in Yang's lap with her shirt off and Yang's face attached to her chest, the first thing she'd felt was anger (and maybe just a little embarrassment, not that she'd admit to it). That was a perfectly normal reaction to finding anyone on verge of having sex in one's living quarters, Weiss figured. 

It was what came  _ after  _ the anger, when Blake and Yang had left to have their conversation and she'd been left alone (at least, mostly; she had ignored Ruby's excited rambling). The anger had faded away, as anger usually does, and in its place wasn't the cool indifference and indignation that Weiss was familiar with. No, it was something else entirely, something hitherto unexperienced. The room had seemed too hot, and she'd gotten fidgety, unable to get comfortable. She tried to sleep it off, but instead it just kept her awake. 

The exhaustion the next day had calmed down the warmth, and it hadn't come back, but that just left another unpleasant feeling, which Weiss likened best to the feeling of watching her sister effortlessly master the summoning glyphs Weiss still struggled to use at all, but that made no sense at all. There was no apparent connection between the two experiences.

She'd managed to put it out of her mind until breakfast, when Nora had made that crude suggestion. The immediate reaction was fear, looking around to see who might have heard (pretty much everyone nearby) and who might say something that would make it back to her father (probably none of them, if she was being completely honest), but right on its heels were those two unpleasant things, brought back seemingly by the mere mention of her teammates  _ doing it _ , as Ruby would say. 

Weiss did not know how to deal with this. It was simply not in her considerable repertoire. So when Yang had called her on it, she had… panicked. It was not the response she'd wanted to give, but having the apparent cause of her unease asking her about it directly sent Weiss straight into fight or flight, and she'd chosen flight. It was extremely inconvenient, as now she would not only have to deal with her newfound problem, but would have to come up with something she could tell her team as a reasonable excuse. 

An interruption to her thoughts was announced by a rush of air and petals, and then Ruby was walking next to her. 

"Weissy!"

Oh, absolutely not. 

"Bestie?"

Not better. 

"Partner?"

...Technically. Weiss sighed and looked over. "What, Ruby?"

It took a second for Weiss to place the look on Ruby's face as concern, which did not bode well for this direction of this conversation. "You, uh, left pretty quickly, and you seemed kind of upset, so I just wanted to know if you were, uh… okay?"

Weiss rolled her eyes and kept walking. "I'm fine, Ruby."

Not to be deterred, Ruby pressed on. "Really? Cuz you seem… not okay?" she said. It almost sounded like a question. "You looked like, scared, almost, and then when Yang asked you just kinda took off. And Blake didn't say anything but I think she thinks it's them? She looked kinda worried when I left."

Ruby was significantly more perceptive than Weiss had given her credit for, which was not great. "Everything is fine.  _ I  _ am perfectly normal."

Weiss felt another rush of air and then Ruby was in front of her, brow furrowed. "No, Weiss, you're not, and I don't think it is. And I am  _ trying  _ to be a good partner and a good leader but if you won't tell me when something's wrong then I can't do my job."

The look on Ruby's face was bad news. It was the same look of determination that had been there right before Weiss watched her sprint vertically up a cliff and behead a Nevermore. It meant she was dead set on this line of questioning, and the worst part was that she was  _ right _ . Keeping secrets got them nowhere as a team. She'd said as much to Blake recently, and here she was, guilty of the same offense. 

"Fine," Weiss said. "I find myself… unsettled by recent events."

Ruby's brow furrowed even further. "What, like Blake and Yang getting together? I know they're kinda all over each other right now, but that'll calm down after a bit, and I'm sure both of them will be plenty capable of making sure it doesn't interfere with things."

Weiss was less sure, but that was beside the point. "The fact that they're together at all is more problematic than the… details of their arrangement."

Furrowed brows turned into something close to anger, which terrified Weiss a bit, because anger was not something she'd ever witnessed on Ruby. She hadn't been totally sure the happy-go-lucky girl was even capable of it. It was replaced quickly enough by insecurity, however, and when Ruby spoke again it was in a quiet voice. 

"Do you… not like that Blake and Yang are bisexual, Weiss?" she asked. She sounded hurt, and Weiss wanted to scoff and tell her not to be ridiculous, but the way Ruby was looking at her - or rather, not looking at her - gave her pause. "Do you not like that  _ I'm  _ gay, Weiss?"

Well  _ that  _ didn't make the situation any easier, but it was, again, beside the point. "Ruby, I assure you I have no issue with homosexuality," Weiss said in the calmest voice she could manage at the moment. "Bit there are other people who do; my father, for example, would find the idea that I share a room with the three of you… distasteful, were he aware, and his reaction would be less than ideal."

Ruby's emotional trip settled next on relief. "Sorry your dad's a douche, Weiss," she said, and Weiss actually snorted at the comment. It was… not inaccurate. "Is that all it is? Because I can talk to Yang, ask her to tone it down a little quicker, or at least find a more private place for it. Your asshole dad doesn't need to know about it."

Here was the real test of Weiss' commitment to being a better teammate: it would be so easy to say yes, and let that be the end of it. It might even work, at least long enough for her to figure out a better plan. 

But it wouldn't be completely honest. 

"No," Weiss said, already regretting her decision. "The unease is not… strictly related to my parental issue."

Ruby was in full-on problem solver mode now. "Is it like, does it make you feel gross being around them when they're together? Or like you're uncomfortable with them doing that? 'Cause like, I know it's tough sometimes for people to shake off a bigoted upbringing, and maybe you're still kinda working through that. I could-"

"No, Ruby," Weiss interrupted before thinking about it fully. She was sure Ruby wasn't  _ entirely _ wrong, but also what she had been experiencing didn't sound like what Ruby was describing. "It's not… bad. Not like that. It's more like… it's been difficult to  _ not  _ think about it - hard to refocus on something else after it comes up. And I find that it causes me… physical discomfort."

Ruby stood and thought over what Weiss was saying for just a moment before her eyes went wide. She quickly looked around the hallway, then sprinted to each corner and looked around into the next, before running back to Weiss and asking in a quiet voice: "Weiss, are you  _ family _ ?"

Weiss was confused. "Ruby, I'm entirely positive I'm in no way related to you or your sister in any-"

Ruby cut her off, shaking her head. "No no no, Weiss.  _ Family _ . A lavender lady, a sapphic sister."

"I need you to say something that makes sense, Ruby."

"A  _ lesbian _ . Are you gay, Weiss?"

Weiss was stunned into silence. Ruby had no such issue. "I mean like, it makes sense right? If you've only ever tried to be interested in boys it would make sense that you wouldn't know what actual attraction feels like at first - which is totally what's happening there, by the way, and I totally get it like, Blake's super hot and Yang is like… objectively attractive. Like it's totally alright if you're a little jealous, and if you just talk to them about it I'm sure it'll make it less awkward. I mean it'll be more awkward at first but in the long run, y'know? Gods, you've even got a sword, I literally cannot believe I didn't guess-"

" _ Ruby _ !" Weiss hissed, finally finding her voice. "I. Am. Not. Gay. I am a Schnee, I cannot be gay."

Ruby looked confused. "I mean, alright, if you say you're not then you're not but I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. Like you only have to look at Coco to know that you can be gay  _ and  _ rich."

"No, Ruby, you don't understand," Weiss said. She was getting properly angry now. This insinuation was not just incorrect and troublesome, it was  _ dangerous _ . "I  _ cannot  _ be gay, because it would cost me  _ everything _ , Ruby. I cannot be gay and have my family's resources, I cannot be gay and an heiress, I cannot be gay and be a  _ Schnee _ . And since I am all of those things, I  _ cannot _ be gay. It is  _ impossible _ ." 

For the second time that day, Weiss turned on a heel and stormed away. It was the wrong direction; she'd been heading to the library before, but the library was in the same direction as Ruby, and Weiss needed to be  _ away  _ more than she needed to be anywhere specific. 

As she turned the corner, she nearly didn't hear the quiet, pity-filled "Weiss…" from behind her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I had to get a little angst in there before things get really fun. I like angst too much. It'll be alright, promise. 
> 
> Next chapter is date night!


End file.
